Wire-cutting tool provided with holding member

ABSTRACT

A wire-cutting tool has a pair of swingably interconnected plier arms and a holding member swingable jointly with one of these arms, this holding member including a rear portion traversed by the pivotal plier axle and rigid with the shank of the associated arm, an inclined front portion substantially coextensive with a sloping face on the jaw of that arm, and a substantially triangular intermediate portion which is perpendicular to the swing plane and overlies a transverse land of the arm. Upon the cutting of a wire, a straight edge of the front portion of the holding member normally registering with the cutting edge of the underlying jaw is repressed by the cut-off wire end and rides up the sloping jaw face against the torsional resistance of the triangular intermediate portion of the holding member.

baited States Patent [1 1 Cassel 51 Oct. 22, 1974 1 1 WIRE-CUTTING TOOL PROVIDED WITH HOLDING MEMBER [75] Inventor: Klaus Cassel, Solingen, Germany [73] Assignee: Werkzeug-Union Gmbll, 56

Wuppertal-Cronenberg, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 23, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 353,724

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. l7,l77 March 6, 1970,

abandoned. 30] Foreign A i liatilin P6066155;

Mar. 11, 1969 Germany 1912254 521 us. ca. 30/124 [51] Int. Cl B26b 17/04 [58] Field of Search 30/124, 134, 135

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 257,389 5/1882 Sager 30/134 3126,6214 3/1964 Popek 30/134 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,036.824 7/1966 Great Britain 30/124 Primary Examiner-A1 Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner.l. C. Peters Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ernest G. Montague; Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno 5 7] ABSTRACT A wire-cutting tool has a pair of swingably interconnected plier arms and a holding member swingable jointly with one of these arms, this holding member including a rear portion traversed by the pivotal plier axle and rigid with the shank of the associated arm, an inclined front portion substantially coextensive with a sloping face on the jaw of that arm, and a substantially triangular intermediate portion which is perpendicular to the swing plane and overlies a transverse land of the arm. Upon the cutting of a wire, a straight edge of the front portion of the holding member normally registering with the cutting edge of the underlying jaw is re-- pressed by the cut-off wire end and rides up the sloping jaw face against the torsional resistance of the triangular intermediate portion of the holding member.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures mim numzzlsn 3, 42,500

sum 1 or 2 Fig.3

WIRE-CUTTING TOOL PROVIDED HOLDING MEMBER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION WITH This application is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 17,177 filed Mar. 6, 1970 and now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION My present invention relates to a wire-cutting tool,

more specifically a pair of pliers, of the type wherein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide such a tool with a holding member which, upon closure of the jaws to cut a wire, resiliently grips a cut-off piece of wire between itself and a confronting jaw and releases it only when the jaws are reopened.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of my invention is to provide a wirecutting tool so equipped in which the holding member does not obstruct the view of the cutting edges of the jaws and wherein the wire-gripping portion of that member is effective anywhere along these cutting edges to grip even a short wire end.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I realize this object, in conformity with my present invention, by constructing a holding member as a flat integral resilient strip longitudinally subdivided into three portions, namely:

a. a rear portion parallel to the swing plane of the plier armsand traversed by their pivotal axle, this rear portion being anchored. rearwardly of the pivotal axle to the shank of one of the arms;

b. a substantially triangular intermediate portion perpendicular to the swing plane overlying a transverse land of the associated arm which adjoins the sloping face of that arms jaw; and

c. an inclined front portion which is substantially coextensive with that sloping face and overlies same with limited relative slidability against the torsional resistance of the triangular intermediate portion, this front portion having a straight edge extending along essentially the full length of the cutting edge of the underlying jaw.

Advantageously, the straight edge of the front portion of the holding member lies flat against the sloping face of the opposite jaw in the closure portion.

If the shanks of the plier arms are partly covered by insulation, the rear portion of the holding member may be anchored to the associated arm by having an extremity enveloped by the insulation thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a wire-cutting tool embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view of the tool. of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in longitudinal sectionof the forward half of the tool of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the tool with its jaws closed;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, with a wire gripped between the closing jaws of the tool; and

FIG. 6 is across-section front view showing the gripping of a cut-off piece of wire by a holding member upon closure of the jaws.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION A holding member 13, secured to plier arm 10 for joint swinging therewith, is a flat resilient strip divided into a rear portion 13c, a front portion 13b and an intermediate portion 13a. Rear portion is traversed by the screw 12, which engages a boss 19 of arm 11, and lies parallel to the swing plane of the two arms; this portion is rigidly anchored to arm 10 by having an extremity inserted into the insulation 20 partly enveloping the shank 10a of that arm. The front portion 13b is substantially coextensive with the sloping face 14 of jaw 10b and overlies same with limited slidability against the torsional resistance of intermediate portion 13a; the latter, which is perpendicular to the swing plane, overlies a transverse land 21 of arm 10 adjoining the face 14 thereof. This front portion has a straight edge 16 which, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, extends along substantially the full length of cutting edge 15'.

When the tool is closed with no workpiece inserted, edge 16 comes to rest against the sloping face 17 of the confronting jaw 11b as illustrated in FIG. 4. If a wire 18 is placed between the closing jaws, as seen in FIG. 5, the upper part of this wire is gripped between the edge 16 and the jaw face 17 as the wire is out between edges 15' and I5 FIG. 6 shows how the cut-off piece of wire 18 remains held by the front portion of member 13 as long as the tool is closed, being released upon reopening.

1 claim:

1. In a wire-cutting tool including a pair of plier arms interconnected for relative rotation in a swing plane about a pivotal axle, said arms having rearwardly extending shanks and forwardly extending jaws with sloping faces which terminate in respective cutting edges meeting along a straight line in a closure position, and

. a holding member secured to one of said arms for joint swinging to grip a cut-off wire end between itself and the opposite jaw upon closure of said jaws, the improvement wherein said holding member is a flat integral resilient striplongitudinally subdivided into three portions, namely:

a rear portion parallel to said swing plane traversed by said pivotal axle and rigidly anchored rearextending along substantially the full length of the cutting edge of said one of said arms.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said straight edge lies flat against the sloping face of said opposite jaw in said closure position.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said shanks are partly covered by insulation, said rear portion being anchored to the shank of said one of said arms by having an extremity enveloped by the insulation thereof. 

1. In a wire-cutting tool including a pair of plier arms interconnected for relative rotation in a swing plane about a pivotal axle, said arms having rearwardly extending shanks and forwardly extending jaws with sloping faces which terminate in respective cutting edges meeting along a straight line in a closure position, and a holding member secured to one of said arms for joint swinging to grip a cut-off wire end between itself and the opposite jaw upon closure of said jaws, the improvement wherein said holding member is a flat integral resilient strip longitudinally subdivided into three portions, namely: a rear portion parallel to said swing plane traversed by said pivotal axle and rigidly anchored rearwardly of said axle to the shank of said one of said arms; a substantially triangular intermediate portion perpendicular to said swing plane overlying a transverse land of said one of said arms adjoining the sloping face thereof; and an inclined front portion substantially coextensive with said sloping face of said one of said arms and overlying same with limited relative slidability against the torsional resistance of said intermediate portion, said front portion having a straight edge extending along substantially the full length of the cutting edge of sAid one of said arms.
 2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said straight edge lies flat against the sloping face of said opposite jaw in said closure position.
 3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said shanks are partly covered by insulation, said rear portion being anchored to the shank of said one of said arms by having an extremity enveloped by the insulation thereof. 